


Unexpected

by silveronthetree



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 19:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14456388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveronthetree/pseuds/silveronthetree
Summary: AU. Obi-Wan meets Leia. It shouldn't be as much of a surprise as it is.





	Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DesertVixen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/gifts).



When Bail's terse message reaches Ben, he comes close to panic. They can't let anyone discover that Leia is force sensitive. Another incident like the one Bail described means that the full gaze of the Empire will be on her. They're probably already looking closely. It's clear from Bail's description that Ben will have to start training Leia to control her abilities immediately. They hadn't planned that.

Ben can almost feel years of plans starting to shatter. If he chooses to go to Leia, what could happen to Luke in his absence?

He mediates on it, feeling out the currents of the Force and in the end the decision is easy. Luke will be safe enough for a short time. 

It takes careful negotiation to decide where to meet. Alderaan is out of the question, but reckless young Princess Leia of Alderaan on Tatooine is a rather horrifying prospect for them both, so they decide to meet halfway on a small space station orbiting a moon Ben has vague memories of visiting when he was a padawan.

*

Bail's last message had just been a name, the Coruscanti. It isn't until he arrives on the station that he discovers it isn't a description of a person, but is one of the station cantinas and he makes his way directly there. Ben hasn't been on a space station since Polis Massa and he feels unsettled as he navigates the featureless corridors.

The cantina doesn't exactly live up to the grandeur associated with its name in much of the galaxy. Unless it's referring an inhabitant of the the lower levels. It certainly isn't the sort of place he imagines members of the Alderaanian royal family spending much time so he assumes that they'll meet Leia elsewhere. 

Ben goes straight to the bar for a drink. It's still early enough in the day that he opts for a kaff, when a request for tea is received with a blank look from the Togruta behind the bar. He looks around, but there's no one he recognises as Bail. That height and breadth is extremely distinctive. He settles in a corner with a good view of the room and sips his drink, wishing it contained alcohol. The only upside is that while it isn't great kaff, it's a lot better than anything he's had in years and it warms him. He's been on Tatooine and under the heat of its suns for far too long and he needs some protection from the chill of the station. He settles in for a long wait, watching the crowd. Bail could arrive at any time.

Ben is on his third kaff when the sound of breaking plates draws the attention of everyone in the cantina. Shouting follows. He turns towards the commotion although he already knows that it involves a man who'd been propping up the bar when Ben arrived and a teenager. 

"That's my spot," the man shouts at the teenager, getting up in his face. The kid is human, tiny and scruffy in spacer gear, and Ben had pegged him as having saved up his credits for a decent meal. 

A decent meal that is now splattered on the floor. 

"Hey asshole," the kid shouts in a deepish voice. "That was mine." The kid's squaring up to the man who looms tall. 

Ben tamps down his urge to interfere. He feels terrible for the kid but he can't afford to draw attention to himself. The plan is to get in, meet Bail, and leave unnoticed. If he gets kicked out there'll be no way to communicate with Bail. He looks around once more for Bail, but no one fits the bill.

The bartender has backed away from the argument as far as he can and is polishing glasses at the corner of the bar. Based on the state of Ben's mug, this isn't normal behaviour. 

He has a bad feeling about this. 

It intensifies as two people get up from a sabacc table and move to the bar. Ben's heart drops when he realises that they have the same hideous green jacket as the fighter. 

"This kriffing piece of bantha fodder picked my pocket," the asshole shouts to his companions as they approach.

"I did not." The kid straightens up defensively and Ben notes that the kid has good form. Then the three green-jacketed men crowd around the kid blocking Ben's view.

But then there is a flash and the kid hits someone with a metal bar tray and takes advantage of their distraction to slip past them towards the side of the cantina where Ben is sitting. Then a blaster appears and this is going bad so fast. 

Before he knows it Ben is out of his seat, pushing the kid out of the way. The kid squawks in surprise but stays down, rubbing at their arm.

Ben has to get rid of that blaster. He grabs a barstool and deflects their blows. He wants his lightsaber in his hands more than ever but he's learned subtlety with the force. It's only moments before he redirects the splintered leg of the stool with a nudge from the force and the blaster drops out of green-jacket number three's hands and skids across the floor out of the way. Ben slams the remains of the stool into number two's head and pushes number one, the original troublemaker, across the room to slam into a table of Rodians. 

The kid grabs the dropped blaster and holds it. Holds it perfectly in fact, and it's aimed at green-jacket number one. Ben looks the kid full in the face for the first time and freezes. The split second of rage crossing the kid's face takes him back to Mustafar and Anakin. Before the kid's expression softens, and those are Padmé's eyes. It's Leia. He'd been fighting next to Leia for the last few minutes and he'd no idea. 

And when he starts to pay attention again he's in the middle of a full bar fight. The Rodian's are fighting more of the green-jacketed crew and bottles, furniture, punches and blaster bolts are flying everywhere.

A discarded blaster floats into Leia hand and everything slows for Ben. He has to finish this now. Anyone could've seen, it's exactly what he's here to stop. And she has to stay safe.

He pulls out his lightsaber and disarms the closest people with blasters and grabs Leia's arm and tries to get her to run. She stiffens and stares at the lightsaber. 

"Kenobi?" she whispers tersely. He nods. Trying not to think of Maul's death and the last time he'd used it.

"We need to leave before security arrives," he says. "Where's your father?"

She doesn't answer his question. "You could've helped earlier, old man," she says rubbing her burnt arm.

"You seemed to have it all under control. And I wanted to see how you'd do," he lies. She isn't anything like he'd expected. 

She glares at him and rolls her eyes, and that's all Luke. Although they don't look much alike. 

Ben stifles a smile and this time when he pulls her to the exit, she runs with him. 

End.


End file.
